Jim Matthews is a name synonymous with upland hunting in the Southern California area. Jim has long served the community with his hunting seminars, “Western Birds” publications and quail calls.

I have been using quail calls as long as I have been hunting quail in Southern California. As an upland hunter who primarily hunts without a dog, I need every advantage, trick and tool available to me when pursuing wild quail that want nothing to do with me or #6 shot! I have owned various calls, from various makers. Like fanatical hunters who collect traditional waterfowl and turkey calls of all shapes and sizes, I am kind of a nut for quail calls! I don’t really understand why more quail hunters don’t utilize them! It is only up until recently, that I feel quail calls are finally getting the recognition they deserve as useful tools in the upland hunters vest!

If you don’t know, Jim Matthews’ quail calls are beautiful pieces of art and are quite functional! He makes his calls from select pieces of wood and meticulously finishes them by hand. His calls range in a wide variety of options and features, from basic “stick” calls to chamber calls. But make no mistake, each call is a unique custom call and no-two are alike. He has many calls on hand for sale, but most calls will be made to order with options for shotgun-shell inserts, etc.

Jim Matthews has been working on a new Three-Way Combo call, that includes a call for each of California’s resident quail: Valley, Gambel’s, and Mountain. If you are lucky like me, you live near areas where all three species can potentially co-exist (if not within driving distance). When I found out about it, I jumped at the opportunity to try out Jim’s new call!

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I received my Jim Matthews Signature Quail Calls Three-Way Quail Call around Thanksgiving. Upon inspection, I noticed that the call comprised of three pieces of wood held together by quality 4×40 Allen screws. This gives you the ability to easily disassemble the call and replace the “reed”, which is a common #32 rubber-band. The grain on my call pops nicely, due to Jim’s careful hand-rubbed oil finish. The particular call I have has a 28 gauge shell-head inset over a valve-hole for the Mountain Quail call, which gives it that nice-final touch!

The Three-Way Quail Call consists of a whistle call for Mountain Quail and two slot calls for Valley and Gambel’s Quail. The Valley Quail is a higher pitch sounding call, while the Gambel’s Quail call utilizes a chamber call and is much deeper sounding. I was really impressed with the initial testing of the call. Each call sounds great, with a warm and life-like resemblance to the intended quarry.

Early December, I was finally able to get back out to try my new Three-Way Quail Call in the field. My intentions were to try to get into some mountain quail, as I was hoping that recent cold fronts would prove beneficial, moving them down to lower elevations. I tried a classic trill call to see if I could stir up some fat Mountain Quail. After about 15 minutes with no response, I started walking the edge of a ravine and heard some putting from some nervous Valley Quail. The convenience of having a Three-Way Quail Call meant that I could try calling to these birds and it was easy as just flipping the call over to its side!

I called using the Valley Quail call and almost immediately received return calls from both directions, in front of me. I don’t claim to be the best caller out there, and my form could surely use improvement, but Jim’s calls are so well made and “tuned” just right, I was able to get call-backs right out of the box!

I usually like to call for a few moments to give the birds time to let their guards down and move towards my calls. After some time, I will make a bee-line towards them in attempts to get them to flush for some shots. Being later in the season, these birds were a bit on the weary side. Every attempt I made to move in, they kept spreading out. They were calling all around me, but I couldn’t get them to budge.

Gambel’s Quail calls, as I mentioned are a bit deeper sounding and you can use these as a “mature” Valley Quail call as well. Weary birds may be attracted to mature bird calls and the Gambel’s Quail slot on my call came in handy that day. I slipped into the ravine and hunkered down. I heard birds calling in the opposite side of the ravine and figured they were trying to congregate with their covey on the side of the ravine I was on. Using the Gambel’s Quail call, I called for a short time and waited. Crouching by some scrub oak, I watched as three Valley Quail swooped into the ravine, directly in front me, not more than 10 yards!

I stood up and the confused birds seemed to bump into each other looking for an escape route, just before deciding to take flight. BOOM! The 37 roared and one cock-bird fell with a puff of feathers! I took aim at the second bird as it glided low to the ground and miffed the shot, shooting just behind it.

As I retrieved my trophy-bird, I admired the beauty of my quarry and the call together. I was really impressed by the versatility of this call and the ability to help me trick a couple of birds to come within range. As a lowly ol’ upland hunter, hunting without a dog, I can appreciate tools that make me more successful in the field. The Three-Way Quail Call by Jim Matthews Signature Quail Calls surely did that for me!

I wished I had chosen an option for a lanyard on my call, and I highly recommend that you choose this option for this particular call. The convenience alone will keep it within easy reach and you won’t have to worry about stuffing it back/rummaging in your pocket or risk losing it in the process.

Pictures do not do this call justice! It is a beautiful and functional piece of art! Having a unique opportunity to be able to hunt all three species of quail in California makes this an ideal call for hunters like me! I highly recommend one of these calls especially to hunters who do not have a dog to help locate birds, but hunters with dogs may also benefit from one of these calls!

Although this call is one of the pricier calls on the market, the quality and craftsmanship of my call was top-notch and warrants the $160 retail price (for this particular combo call…) in my opinion. Waterfowl hunters don’t bat an eye at spending that much or more for a duck-call, and I don’t have a problem doing the same for quality products like this. These calls are worthy of being presentation pieces and make great gifts that will surely be passed down as family heirlooms!

Jim Matthews, as mentioned, also crafts other variations of his calls that range from $60 for a “stick” call, $80 for single-chamber calls, and up for combo calls. My understanding is that he can also make Bobwhite calls to order and he may have something special planned for you guys out in the South-West (think Arizona) in the future! Check out Jim Matthews site here!

Again, I am very impressed with this call! It’s a functional piece of art. It’s very versatile for the species’ we find and hunt here in California, especially in Southern California, where all three species co-exist! This call has a permanent place in my vest!

 

God Bless & Happy Hunting!

– J.R.

 

 

 

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